Canal Cruising in Scotland for People with Special Needs

Training

As in all walks of life qualifications and certification of ability are becoming more and more a requirement of operation and insurance. To this end, Seagull Trust Cruises has instituted a training and certification scheme for their boat skippers, under the auspices of the Royal Yachting Association. This training is available to members of Seagull Trust Cruises only, and is not offered to the general public.

Some of the Skippers are professional ship captains and seamen, many of them holding recognised Master Mariner Certificates of Competency, however the majority are volunteers and it is to these people that formal training is provided.

Falkirk, Ratho and Kirkintilloch Branches are now RYA recognised Training Centres, where Gordon Daly and Roy Davidson conduct the courses with the skippers using their own canal boats on their own stretches of canal. The course covers all aspects of cruising on inland waterways including boat handling, mooring, using locks, bridges etc.

It is STC policy that, in addition to local training specific to the area of operation, all of their skippers should hold at least the RYA Inland Waterway helmsman’s certificate, or a higher level of qualification.

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Scottish Charity Number SC027163. Incorporated in Scotland as a Company Limited by Guarantee. Company Number SC179736
Registered Office: The Boathouse, South Bantaskine Road, Bantaskine Estate, Falkirk. FK1 5PT